Kozhikode
Calicut
is the anglicised form of Kalikut. The Arabic for the Malayalam , Kozhikode.
It is also called the Cock Fort. According to the historian, K.V Krishnan Iyer,
the term means koyil (Palace) Kodu (Fortified). Anyhow, it is a historical town
with a hoary past. From time immemorial, the city attracted travellers, with
its charming physical features and prosperity. Even today , the glory that was
Calicut has not faded. The political history of Kozhikode is a story of treacherous
and ill conceived conspiracies hatched by the Western powers. Vasco De Gama
landed at Kappad in May 1498, as the leaders of a trade mission from Portugal
and was received by the Zamorin himself.
The history of Kozhikode district as an administrative unit begins from January
1957. When the states of the Indian Union were reorganised on linguistic basis
on 1st November, 1956, the erstwhile Malabar district was separated from Madras
state (Tamil Nadu) and added to the new unilingual state of Kerala. But malabar
district was found to be too uniwieldy for administrative purposes. Consequently
the state government ordered the formation of three districts with certain changes
in the boundaries of some of the taluks. The Kozhikode district thus came into
existence on 1st Jnauary 1957,orginally consisting of five taluks, Viz, Vadakara,
Koyilandy, Kozhikode, Ernad & Tirur. With the formation of malapuram district
on 1st june 1969 & Wayandu on 1st November 1980, kozhikode district now
consist of one revenue division , three taluks, twelve blocks, 77 panchayats
and 117 villages.
PLACES OF INTEREST IN AND AROUND KOZHIKODE
» S.M Street
Sweat
Meat Street, popularly known as SM street with its cross raods , is the busiest
shopping spot of kozhikode . The name derived so as a result of the presence
of numerous sweet meat stalls. Old bakery shops here known for the famous Kozhikodan
Halwa and Banana Chips.
» Beypore
Beypore town is about 9.65 Kms from Kozhikode at the mouth of the Beypore River.
The Place was formerly known as Vaypura and Vadaparappanad. Tippu Sultan named
the town "Sultan Pattanam" .It is one of the imporatant ports of Kerala
and naturally an important trading centre.It is famous for it's boat buliding
yard where mammoth country crafts known as "Urus" are being bulit.It
is a major fishing harbour of kerala. there are two man made extensions to the
sea to facilitate easy acces for fishing boats. This is an ideal place for outing.
» Vadakara
This
ancient place is now the headquarters of the taluk as well as of the municiplaity
of that name. There is ruined fort in the town. vadakara was the scene of many
exploits of Tacholi Othenan, the hero of htee ballads of north malabar (Vadakkan
Pattukal) Five kms south east of Vadakar in Memunda amsom, is the Lokanarkavu
which hass three rock-cut caves in its vicinity. Annual ceremonies are conducted
in memory of "Othenan" whose bith place is Manikoth near Meppayil.
Vadakara is also called becasues of its location just north ( Vadakku) of kotta
river. the Orkattery cattle fair is held between fabruary at Orkattery 6.45
kms from vadakara.
» KrishnaMenon Museum
Situated adjacent to the Pazhassi Raja Museum, the art gallery houses painting
of Raja Ravi Varma among the other collections.. The museum has a section dedicated
to VKKrishamaenon. The personal belongings and souvenirs gifted by this world
leader are exhibited here.
» Feroke
Feroke is the cradle of the tile industry in Kerala. The rapid rivers from the
Western Ghats after passing through forest carry the clay which is the raw-material
for tiles, pottery and ceramic wares. There are more than a dozen tile factories
in Feroke alone
» Kallai
Kallai was known as the world's best timber trading centre. Even now, it is
the place for timber trade in Malabar.
» Kappad
On 27th May 1498, Vasco-De Gama landed here with three vessels and 170 men.
If you travel 16 Kms north of Kozhikode by kannur road, a small road near Tiruvangoor
health centre guides you to this beach of historical inportance. A monument
is here to commemorate the historical landing. An ancient temple on a hillock,
facing the deep sea, is an added attraction.
Kerala Must See › Alappuzha
› Ernakulam › Idukki
› Kannur › Kasaragod
› Kollam › Kottayam
› Kovalam › Kozhikode
› Malappuram › Palakkad
› Pathanamthitta › Periyar
› Thiruvananthapuram ›
Thrissur › Wayanad
